What is Narcissistic Personality Disorder?

What's NPD? We can answer that. There's been a lot of throwing around the term "narcissist" lately. Have people been using it correctly? Let's look at the facts. Like so much info of this type, it'll help in life and it'll help you pass the social work licensing exam.

A diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder requires, per DSM-5, a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy and behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance.
2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.
3. Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).
4. Requires excessive admiration.
5. Has a sense of entitlement (i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations).
6. Is interpersonally exploitative (i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends).
7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.
8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.
9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.

So what do you think? You likely know (or know of) more than a few people who meet the above criteria. NPD has a prevalence of somewhere between 2%-16% in clinical populations.

How to identify NPD is one thing. How to treat it is another.

Read on here:

• NPD Treatment (PsychCentral)
• NPD (Mayo Clinic)
• NPD (Wikipedia)
• Cluster B Personality Disorders (MentalHelp.net)

Good luck handling the narcissists in your life and good luck on the exam!